London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

"Feel Excited": Biden Downplays Age Concerns After Launching Re-Election Bid

"Feel Excited": Biden Downplays Age Concerns After Launching Re-Election Bid

At a press conference Wednesday, the day after the low-key launch of his campaign via video, the 80-year-old president Joe Biden said it was normal for people to ask questions.
Joe Biden on Wednesday addressed the elephant in the room of his 2024 re-election bid: the fact that he is already the oldest ever president and would be 86 when he stepped down if he wins.

The veteran Democrat rarely talks about his age.

But polls show it's a matter of overwhelming concern for voters -- and one his Republican opponent will weaponize.

At a press conference Wednesday, the day after the low-key launch of his campaign via video, the 80-year-old president said it was normal for people to ask questions.

He admitted he'd thought hard about the issue himself.

"I respect them taking a hard look at it. I'd take a hard look at it as well – I took a hard look at it before I decided to run," he said.

Biden, speaking alongside South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the White House Rose Garden, said he was confident about what is likely to be a grueling election battle, all while working in one of the world's most demanding jobs.

"I feel good, I feel excited about the prospects," he said. "People are going to find out. They are going to see a race and they are going to judge whether I have it or don't have it."

Biden tried joking, saying "I can't even say I guess how old I am. I can't even say the number -- it doesn't register."

Trump's insults

Gentle jokes about how long he has been around -- serving as a senator for 36 years and vice president to the younger Barack Obama for eight -- are usually the only way Biden discusses the age question.

Voters, however, are not laughing.

An NBC News poll released last weekend found that 70 percent of Americans, including 51 percent of Democrats, believe he should not run in 2024. And 69 percent of all respondents who said he shouldn't run cited concerns over his age as a major or minor reason.

If re-elected, Biden would be 82 when he took office for a second term in January 2025. The previously oldest president was Ronald Reagan, who was 77 when he completed his second term in 1989.

Biden seems driven to keep going not just because that's what first term presidents always do but from a sense of historic mission to stop Donald Trump, whom he defeated in 2020, from coming back.

Trump is currently the overwhelming frontrunner for the Republican nomination, despite being the subject of multiple legal cases -- the latest hearing this week was on a rape allegation in a New York court -- and his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election.

When Biden challenged Trump in 2020, the Republican savaged him over his age, deriding him as "Sleepy Joe" and offering up crude insults about his mental state. The attack will certainly return, likely in new intensity, if Trump wins his party nomination.

Asked Wednesday if he considered himself the only person who could defeat Trump, Biden said: "I may not be the only one, but I know him well, and I know the danger he presents to our democracy and we've been down this road before."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×